Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Orient Man Charged With Firing Gun at Construction Site

The following information was supplied by police departments on the East End. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

Matthew Byank, whose pregnant 19-year-old fiancée Lauren M. Parris died when he crashed his motorcycle in Amagansett two years ago while fleeing from police, was sentenced 3 to 9 years in state prison on Wednesday, the maximum under the cap the judge promised when Byank pleaded guilty in May.

Suffolk County Criminal Court Judge C. Randall Hinrichs handed down the sentence following an emotional morning in court on Wednesday. Lauren's family chastised Byank for his carelessness and Byank told the judge he loved Lauren deeply and was sorry.

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Miller Place-Rocky Point

• Thomas Gonzalez, 39, of Sound Beach, was arrested July 9 and charged with grand larceny (property value greater than $1,000). Gonzalez allegedly stole money from his employer, United Chimney Corporation.

• Patsy Bellomo, 54, of Mt. Sinai, was arrested July 8 and charged with third degree assault with intent to cause physical injury. Bellomo allegedly punched someone in the face on Route 25A in Rocky Point.

• Michael O'Connell, 35, of Rocky Point, was arrested July 7 and charged with first-offense DWI. Police said O'Connell drove 75 mph in a 35 mph zone and ran a red light. He appeared to be intoxicated when stopped, according to police.

NORTH FORK

• Donald F. Lechtrecker, 65, of Orient, was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon on Tuesday at 4:06 p.m., afterresponded to a report of someone on Stephenson Road in Orient, police said. Police located Lechtrecker to the rear of his residence, where he was found to be in possession of a Winchester 30/30 lever action rifle, police said.

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Further investigation revealed that he had discharged the rifle several times at five construction workers at a job site to the rear of the suspect's residence, police said.


WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

• Jowil A. Paulino, 23, Jamaica, was arrested July 14 at 8:44 p.m. in Hampton Bays and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third, fourth and seventh degrees, with the top charges being felonies and the latter being a misdemeanor. Police said Paulino stopped his vehicle in the middle of Dune Road, preventing traffic from safely passing. According to the arrest report, a strong odor of marijuana was emanating from the vehicle. In addition to possessing marijuana, he also had ecstasy and ketamine, police said. He was additionally charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation, and standing on pavement, a traffic infraction.

• Douglas Gotay, 42, of Garnerville, was arrested July 15 at 10:19 a.m. on Dune Road in Hampton Bays and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a felony, and DWI, a misdemeanor. Police said they responded to a 911 call of an erratic driver and located and pulled over Gotay.

• Darren Stein, 37, of Riverside, was arrested July 10 at 6:33 a.m. in Westhampton and charged with failure to register as a sex offender, a felony. Police said Stein was arrested at the homeless sex offender trailer in Westhampton after failing to register his address change.

SOUTHAMPTON

• Just days after signing with the New York Knicks, Jason Kidd was arrested Sunday morning on a drunken driving charge after a single-car crash, according to .

Police said that Kidd's 2010 Cadillac Escalade struck a telephone pole and went into the woods near the intersection of Cobb Road and Little Cobb Road in Water Mill, not far from his Hamptons house. Police responded at 1:56 a.m.

Kidd, 39, was alone in the car, according to police. He was transported to for minor injuries and released into police custody.

• Christopher Cooks, 30, of Bridgehampton, was arrested July 15 at 4:59 a.m. in Bridgehampton on Montauk Highway and charged with DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, both misdemeanors. Police said Cooks backed into another vehicle and it was determined he was intoxicated.

• Larry A. Horton, 53, of Southampton, was arrested July 2 at 7:19 p.m. in Water Mill and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and refusing to submit to an “alert test.” Police said Horton was driving on Montauk Highway when he drove off the road and into a tree, rolling his vehicle. Police said Horton “exhibited slurred speech, smelled of an alcoholic beverage, had red and glassy eyes and stated he drank two glasses of wine.” He was arrested and processed at, according to the arrest report.


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